One Life Changing Day
by numom1
Summary: Daniel and Janet are about to embark on the romance of a lifetime, but does fate have something else in store?  Only their friends and family can help them get through this one life changing day.


**A/N:** An A/U for Heroes with a Daniel/Janet romantic theme - so definite spoilers for Heroes, Rite of Passage, Meridian, Fallen, and probably many others as the fic progresses Also, the rating is M based on some violence and possibly medical procedures, etc - definitely not because of any intimate scenes. BTW, I love feedback so the more I get the more I want to write. :D

Chapter One

Daniel took a quick look around to make sure no one was watching as he quietly snuck into Janet's office. He smiled a furtive little smile as he put his item on her desk. He knew she would love it and could imagine her smile when she saw it. He took a quick look outside her door to make sure no one was around and quickly departed her office as silently as he had come. He made his getaway soundlessly and was sure that no one was the wiser. As he made his way back to his office, he thought about the past few weeks…

_He remembered when __he and __Janet had finally found the courage to admit to one another what they really felt for each other. He knew __Janet__ had felt something for him ever since Cassie had been sick from the __nanocytes__ in her bloodstream__ that __Nirrti__ had __engineered and distributed throughout her home planet__'s native population, because __Janet__ had been as reluctant as him to let go of his hand when he had grabbed for it in the hallway that fateful day. But it hadn't been until recently that he had actually had the nerve to do anything about it. _

_It had all began when h__e'd woken up in the infirmary after another close call and had seen the fear__ful look__ in her eyes. __She had been scared for him, that much was obvious.__ That had done it for him – he had decided then and there that they were going to talk about their feelings and who knows, maybe something more would come of it. If it was up to him, it would. He secretly longed for a family and he already loved Cassie as much as a father would._

_As soon as he had been able to get up on his feet and make it to her office, he had cornered her. Admittedly, he hadn't been too steady __on his feet, but it served his purpose, namely to keep her there so she couldn't bolt if things got too uncomfortable__. He gently lowered himself to the chair, cursing the scrubs he was dressed in as he certainly hadn't imagined confronting her like this, but he just couldn't wait anymore. She eyed him critically__ from her seat at her desk__, "Daniel, you really shouldn't be out of bed this much yet."_

_Daniel let a little smile show, "I wanted to talk to you, Janet." Putting up his hand to ward off any protest, he continued, "And it couldn't wait. I ha__ve__ to find something out."_

_"Find out what, Daniel? What could be more important than your health?" asked Janet, eying him speculatively. "I certainly don't consider anything else more important."_

_Daniel decided to just let the bombshell drop. "I had to find out if you feel the same way about me that I feel about you," he said quietly.__ "For a long time now I've wanted to ask you out, but haven't had the courage. But, now I've decided to just grab the ball and run for it." Daniel paused for a breath, now that he'd gotten the crux of the matter out in the open. "Janet, do you have similar romantic feelings for me as I do for you?" he asked, praying for a positive response._

_Janet's mouth dropped open in a silent "oh." She was flabbergasted and very surprised. She knew that she had strong romantic feelings__ for him__, which she had been trying to keep under wraps for a very long time now, but she had no idea those feelings were returned. Her heart started fluttering and she thought she might faint from excitement. Could it be? Was he really as interested in her as she was in him? Please, she silently pleaded, let this be real and not just a joke._

_Daniel was becoming slightly concerned at the time it was taking to get an answer and started questioning himself. Maybe the signals he had thought he'd seen were wrong? Maybe she really wasn't interested in him after all. Boy, he hoped he hadn't just made a gigantic mistake. He definitely didn't want to ruin a great friendship over a misplaced sense of romantic love. But, he also didn't want to ruin a chance at happiness for himself and Janet._

_"__Uhm__, Janet," Daniel said hesitantly, "if you don't feel the same way, it's ok. I'll just go back to my bed and we will conveniently forget this conversation ever happened, ok?" he asked pleadingly, searching her face for a different answer._

_"No, no, please, stop. Don't go back to your bed, at least not right this minute," she said haltingly, seemingly at a loss for words. She continued on, slowly, "You just startled me, that's all. Give me a moment to get use to the idea that you have the same feelings for me that I do for you," she said, with a hesitant smile._

_Daniel leaned back in his chair after realizing he had been poised to rise and go back to bed. He gave a soft sigh as the pressure was taken off of his bruised torso._

_Janet gave him a quick look and got up from her seat to kneel in front of him. "Are you ok?" she asked softly, as she gently touched his wrist to check the pulse that beat within. After a few moments, she said, "I don'__t want you to overdo__ right now. This last injury took a lot out of you. We can talk about this later if it's too much for you," she said, alarmed a__t__ his rapid pulse._

_Daniel smiled at her__ with__ that endearing smile she loved so much. "No, Janet. I'm just excited, that's all. You just admitted you have feelings for me," he said,__ gently raising his hand and caressing her cheek. "I was hoping you did. I even thought I saw it in your eyes when I woke up, but I wasn't sure until just now."__ He gently cupped his hand around her chin and brought her face to his for a gentle, but heartwarming kiss, that spoke of so much more to come._

_Janet felt her own heartbeat speed up a few no__t__ches as her very soul was warmed by his sweet kiss. As their lips parted, but their faces were still next to each other, she gave a soft smile as she enjoyed the moment. She saw Daniel return her smile and her soul rejoiced in his presence. She knew that she had finally found what she had been looking for, for so long. She knew in the very depth of her soul that this would be it for her, she would never find anyone else like Daniel and he was __her __one and only._

_They both pulled back and neither broke the silence for the longest time; they just stared at each other, reveling in the unspoken bond that __been __had formed by the one kiss. __Janet finally broke the silence, "Daniel, I care for you so much that I… __I… ,__" she stopped, unsure of how to go on. _

_Daniel just gave her one of his gentle smiles, encouraging her to continue. She raised a h__and and gently took his hand rubbing her thumb along it in a gentle caress. "I feel a whole lot more for you than your doctor should, that's for sure," she said, slightly exasperated at __herself_

_Daniel chuckled, raising their hands to his lips and turning hers so he could kiss her hand. "I'm glad you do," he said, with a smile as he kissed her hand causing a smile__ to light up__ her face. "I've imagined this moment a hundred times," he said, "and I didn't dare hope it would come out this way. I love it when I'm wrong."_

_Janet harrumphed with a grimace. "Daniel, you hate to be wrong," she said with a laugh._

_Daniel gave her a cockeyed grin with a raised eyebrow, "Sometimes, I don't. Sometimes I'm ecstatic when I'm wrong. __I think," __he__ said hesitantly, "t__his is one of those times." _

_Janet smiled tenderly at him. "Sometimes I really like when you're wrong too," she said. She paused for a moment before deciding to take the plung__e. __"I have strong feelings for you and I would really love to see where they take us."_

_Daniel smiled one of the brightest grins she had ever seen on him and his eyes shone brightly. "Then, that, my dear, is what we shall do," he declared, cupping his hand around her face again and bringing it in for another lingering kiss. After a few breathless moments, they pulled back and both grinned widely._

_They both started speaking at the same time and ended up laughing. As their laughter ended, Daniel clutched his side, "__Ow__," he said, the pain evident in his voice._

_Janet,__ instantly concerned__, was__ at his side__, checking his pulse again__. "Daniel, I knew it. You shouldn't be out of bed yet. Let me get you back there," she said, stopping him with her finger to his mouth as he started to protest. "We can always talk about this later, when you are feeling better. We have lots of time to discu__ss this new development__," she said, with a smile. "Right now, you need to get back to bed so I can take care of you and you can heal enough to get out of here and we can h__ave__ this discussion in much more comfortable circumstances," she finished, with a flourish._

_Daniel grimaced, but knew she was right. He was really starting to hurt and his ribs__ which had taken quite the beating__ were really starting to make __themselves__ known. He'd also had a collapsed lung this last time and he was still a bit breathless from that. "Ok, Janet, I'll do what you say," he said, as he started to get up,__ moving very gingerly, "but as soon as I'm out of here__ we are going to have a much more in depth discussion about our feelings." __Grabbing__ her around the waist and pull__ing__ her to him __in an embrace __as __he rose__ he growled deliciously__ in her ear__, "preferably at my house."_

_Janet laughed and gave him a quick hug and kept one arm around him as she slowly helped him out of her office and back to his "regular" bed in the infirmary. She was pleased to note that the area was quiet and no one was paying any particular attention to either of them as they made their way __slowly __back to his bed. She gently helped him back into bed and smiled when __he gave a pleased sigh as he lay __back on the bed. She covered him back up and caressed his __soft, short hair__. He gave another little sigh and closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them smiling at her. "I can't wait until we can get out of here," he said._

_She smiled at him, "Me, too. But it will have to wait a few days more," she said, as a gentle reprimand. "Right now, I want you to get some sleep. I can see how that small jaunt took a lot out of you." She looked at him sternly, "And no sneaking work up here either, Daniel. You know I always find out about it. I want you home as soon as possible too, and I won't be happy if you make this stay any longer by your foolishness," she gently chided him, offsetting her harshness, with another caress across his cheek._

_Daniel smiled at her, knowing her gentle reprimand was just another tool she used to show how much she cared__, n__ot that he had any doubt,__ of course__ He had always known she cared, but now he knew she cared as much as he did. __H__e__ was ecstatically happy and would go to the moon right now if she told him too,__ so he just obediently closed his eyes as she gently stroked his hair, lulling him to sleep_

_He had recovered quickly after that, only spending a few more days in the infirmary before being released to his home. Janet had come whenever she had the chance and they had truly started getting to know each other, __including __the __enjoy__ment of __the more physical side of their relationship. He hadn't been up for anything other than some serious petting yet, but they had certainly enjoyed that. He had gotten to know more about her personal life and her likes and dislikes. He was amazed at the __information__ he was learning and delighted to realize she had an amateur interest in archeology, something he had never known before. He was beginning to realize there was so much more to her than he knew from working and hanging out with her and SG1 throughout the years. There was a much more personal side that perhaps only Cassie and Sam had ever really known. _

_Their relationship was coming along very well and he was enjoying every minute of it. It wasn't long before he was cleared to come back to work and they had continued their covert relationship without anyone the wiser. That part had surprised him, he had felt sure that one of SG1 would have noticed before now. He certainly felt much happier and knew it had to show somehow. And, Janet, he thought, she just radiated happiness, but maybe that was just his wishful thinking. __Anyway, he knew soon they would have to tell their closest friends and he just hoped they took it well and didn't have any problems with it because he knew, he just felt deep down inside, that Janet was 'it' for him. She was the one, and he fully intended to ask her to marry him within the next year and while they hadn't yet said their 'I love __you's__,' he was sure she felt the same way._

_He didn't see any reason to waste time with their relationship. He had already lost too much in __h__is young life not __to __take advantage of whatever came his way. After all, he had already died __and ascended __once__ and while he didn't intend to die again, you never knew what would happen as long as he was a part of SG1. He went out on dangerous missions all the time, and Janet even had to go out on a few once in awhile. Granted, that was a rare occurrence, but it did happen; therefore, he didn't intend on wasting a single moment of happiness for either of them._

_It was just so easy to be __innately __himself__ with her. She had a lovely sarcastic wit, which he so thoroughly enjoyed__, watching__ her use __it __throughout the years, mostly with Jack, but also with others __that had earned it, even himself__ occasionally. But the tender side of her, he hadn't truly known that side__ and he was finding himself enthralled with it. He knew she had a wonderful bedside manner, as long as you obeyed her, but the tenderness she'd shown him __since they had gotten together, __literally took his breath away. He wanted that __– forever and he was determined to have it. That old Jackson stubbornness came in handy once in awhile after all, he thought wryly. _

And tonight was the night. He had a romantic evening planned and he was going to wine and dine her and let her know how much she had come to mean to him. Tonight he was going to tell her he loved her, as long as that reporter Emmett Bregman stayed out of the way long enough to let him. He had noticed how he was mooning over her and how he'd asked her to lunch at the commissary. While he knew Janet was just humoring him, he had no desire to even have the appearance of jealousy. So, tonight was the night, and the rose with the dinner invitation he had left on her desk, was the perfect catalyst to tonight's festivities. They were going to have a wonderful evening and hopefully by morning they would be ready to tell the world at large how they felt about one another.

tbc...


End file.
